


Alien Bonds

by BabyBarnOwl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Thace, Alpha Ulaz, Alpha/Alpha, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Cultural Differences, Forced Bonding, Forced Marriage, M/M, Omega Shiro (Voltron), gladiator arena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 19:33:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13014672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyBarnOwl/pseuds/BabyBarnOwl
Summary: Thace and Ulaz, Alpha mates, are gifted an Omega called Shiro in Earths attempt to appease, and join the Galra Empire.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Background info.   
> Less bloodthirsty Galra.  
> Thace is a high ranking officer.  
> Ulaz is a doctor.  
> The Galra have poor opinions of Omegas.

Shiro straightened out his uniform for the umpteenth time, and peered into his reflexion in the tiny window of Commander Iverson’s office door. He tried to flatten back his gelled hair into something more professional, it didn’t work, he could barely see himself.

Being called to the commander’s office usually didn’t warrant this level of nerves. It might be nothing. Going over test scores, talking about commendations, or even the fact that he was the one who’d rigged the simulators to yell ‘WASTED’ when someone crashed. That last one was unlikely, Matt had covered his tracks.

It could also be something. Something huge, and life changing for him, like a place on the Kerberos mission – which he definitely wasn’t aware he was the top runner for. It could even be – and this really was a dream – a place on the Galra peace mission.

That would be life changing. They’d only discovered them two months ago, and being one of the first humans to ever work with aliens, nothing could compare, but it would never happen.

He needed to get his head out of the clouds. The Kerberos mission was a great honour, one he was ready and trained for. He was no diplomat, and the Galra mission needed seasoned pilots, not green ones.

With one last straighten of his uniform, Shiro knocked on the door.

Commander Iverson’s voice came back instantly, “come in.”

With what he hoped was easy confidence, Shiro swung open the door, and stepped in.

Iverson was leaning back in his chair, a pen twisting between his fingers as he looked at Shiro in a way he could only describe as assessing.

“Take a seat.” 

This wasn’t the atmosphere of successful mission application. Shiro’s heart sank, maybe they had found out about the simulators.

“You asked for me, Sir.” He took the seat as he spoke.

“Yes.” Iverson clicked his pen twice. “I have some good new.”

He leaned forward, chair creaking, and clicked the pen again, placing it down in front of Shiro.

“About my mission applications?” Shiro ventured, hoping he’d read the room wrong.

Iverson paused, “yes, it’s a mission.”

Relief should have washed through Shiro, but something felt wrong. It was in the way Iverson moved, and the slow way he spoke.

“Kerberos?”

“No.” Oh, he hadn’t qualified, and Iverson didn’t want to break the bad news. Everything made sense, but that didn’t make it any better.

“You’re been chosen for the Galra mission,” Iverson spoke again, and Shiro was sure he’d misheard.

Was...was this a prank? Had the sombre mood all been so he could see Shiro’s delighted face?

“Really?” He nearly whispered, eyes going wide as his mouth cracked a grin.

“Yes,” Iverson sat like a statue, “Take off is the 28th. There’s a briefing you have to read,” he tapped a wad of paper next to him that Shiro had assumed was his paperwork, “and a few things you have to sign,” he tapped the adjacent smaller pile, “before you can leave.”

Shiro’s heart hammered in his chest as he nodded.

“Okay. Nothing leaves this room, got it? Okay,” Iverson pushed the smaller stack toward Shiro, “sign.”

“Shouldn’t I,” Shiro hesitated as Iverson stared at him, unblinking, “read the mission briefing first?”

“You’re going to turn this down?”

“No! Just...” He trailed off. Know what you’re signing, it was common sense. Advice everyone gave.

Iverson flipped open the first document, and point down towards the bottom of the page, “sign here.”

Shiro glanced up to the top, where it read ‘document of nondisclosure’. How could he agree not to tell anyone about the mission when he didn’t know what the mission was.

“I need to read this.”

Iverson tapped the pen, “I haven’t got all day.”

“I could take this ho-.”

“-Nothing leaves this room.” He spoke a little too fast, something was wrong.

“I need to read this.”

Iverson tapped the pen again, eyes on Shiro.

“Fine,” he said, flipping the document closed, “but understand this, this is your only mission offer. No one is going to hire an Omega who thinks they’re too good for the Galra mission.”

He then grabbed both stacks of paper, and pushed them towards Shiro, knocking the pen off the table, and onto the floor.

“I’m taking the mission?” Shiro asked. The pen rolled away, disappearing under a piece of furniture.

“Yes.” Iverson pulled a new pen out of his pen pot, and placed it down next to the stacks of paper.

Slowly, Shiro reached for the briefing stack, and flipped open the first page. He noticed his hands were shaking, but he needed to know.

What mission was worth his career?

Shiro close the last file, face white, and new pen untouched.

“No.”

Silently, Iverson picked up the pen, and placed it closer to Shiro.

“No,” Shiro repeated.

They stared at each other, both set in stone.

“There’s more at stake here than your ego.”

“My ego?” Shiro said, not sure he was hearing right, “I have rights! A career! A life!”

Still impassive, “so does everyone else on this planet, and now we have an alien civilisation looming over us – literally – with the ability to destroy us in minutes.” Shiro opened his mouth disagree, but Iverson continued, voice growing louder, “they’ve done it before. They had a goddamn presentation about it. Videos of genocide, Shirogane. We keep these people happy, or we die. Which means you sign these form, or you don’t walk out of this room, and we find someone else who will.”

Iverson was red by the time he’d finished, hands clenched, and eyes boring into Shiro, who couldn’t form a reply. 

“Sign.”

Shiro looked down at the papers, and calculated his chances if he ran. He wouldn’t get very far.

He picked up the pen, “which parts do I sign?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haggar, Sendak, and Thace discuss what to do with Shiro, and Shiro prepares to leave.

Thace took his seat at the discussion table, and waited, posture professional, back straight, hands clasped in front of him.

This was new. Not discovering an alien species new, no, that was old. This was unexpected situation new, which wasn’t good.

Humans, when faced with a force they couldn’t hope to defeat, were very adaptable. A little too adaptable. Thace held back a snort. Who knew that was a thing?

To be fair to them, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Certain tradition obsessed Galra were the real problem.

The door to the conference room opened, and in walked Sendak. He was as hulking, and sneering as ever, but there was also an unhappy puff to his fur. 

As the commander in charge of this quadrant, he, and Thace, who’d discovered the new species – humans – had to discuss the issue that had arisen within their Empire joining process. An issue that Thace could have easily fixed if he’d been alone.

Sendak took the seat opposite Thace without greeting.

“Vrepit sa, Commander Sendak, shall we begin?” Thace asked in the most pleasant voice he could manage, whilst keeping his ears up to give off a friendly appearance.

“We can’t,” Sendak snapped back, left eye barely a slit, “the humans have managed to quiznak this situation up enough that Haggar is attending.”

That explained the puffed fur.

Thace wasn’t surprised. Haggar, as the only high-ranking Omega in the Empire, sat in on most matters where the fate of one of her kind was in discussion. She was meant to give the Omegan viewpoint. She, well, she gave a viewpoint.

“How long is she expected to be?”

Sendak grunted, as helpful as ever.

“I am never late,” a hoarse, female voice said. 

They both stilled, blood pumping deafeningly loud through their veins, fully aware that the voice belonged to Haggar.

Her feet clacked against the floor as she came towards the table.

Slowly, the two alphas turned. She stopped at the chair between them, face as perpetually unhappy as always. 

“Vrepit sa,” Sendak croaked. She didn’t look at him, her glowing eyes watched Thace.

“Vrepit sa. My apologies,” he began. He hadn’t meant to imply she was late, but better to apologise than argue with the Witch.

Haggar lifted one clawed hand, and waved him quiet. She took a seat between the two of them. They waited, watching the Omega. 

This wasn’t a situation for Alpha posturing. Anyone who wanted to climb the Empire ladder learnt early on that you treated the Witch like an Alpha, or you ended up screaming in the pit of a ship.

Eyes still on Thace, she started, “I assume Sendak hasn’t informed you of why I’m here, but you’re not stupid.”

What meeting with Haggar started without an insult, or sly jab?

“The Omega Human,” he answered.

“Yes, what’s your answer?” She was snappy, to the point, she didn’t want to be here.

But, his answer? He was already mated to Ulaz, and now the humans wanted him to mate with one of their own in the hopes of gaining favour.

“I would like to decline.” If no one else had been involved, that would have been the end of it.

Instead, the Witch growled lowly.

“We can’t let them into the Empire, and decline their gift,” she said. Thace was aware.

Grabbing at the opportunity, Sendak cut in, leaning forwards, ready to get up, and leave as he spoke, “so, we don’t make them part of the Empire.”

That wasn’t an option either, you joined the empire, or you died, and Thace refused to have the blood of an entire planet on his hands.

He needed to word this right, otherwise he’d incur Sendak’s animosity. Currently, he was one of the few people the Alpha didn’t hate, and it made his life much easier.

Before he could speak, Haggar cut him off, “No. It is the Emperors will that the Humans join our Empire.”

That was new.

‘The Emperors will’? Sendak echoed. Thace didn’t do the same, knowing better than to look gormless in front of the Witch.

Sendak sagged back into his seat, ears, and mouth down, looking defeated. His glowing eye bore into Thace, accusing.

“Well?” The Alpha asked, “you’re far too stubborn to give in, so what’s the idea you’re hiding?”

Thace’s ears twitched forwards, surprised.

“I didn’t realise you thought of me as stubborn.”

Sendak didn’t grace him with a reply.

Instead, the Witch prodded, “I wish to hear your idea as well,” her eye’s seemingly glowing brighter under her hood.

Thace paused, and then spoke slowly, still unsure of his proposal, “I did think we could consider someone else accept the gift.”

“No,” Sendak shot down the idea.

“But-,”

“I agree, no, that will not work,” Haggar finalised the refusal.

Thace looked between the two ominously glow-y figures. It was his turn to let out a grow of annoyance.

“Why?”

Haggar’s sigh was soft, and from anyone else he would have said regretful.

She spoke with less growl than usual, “gifts must always be accepted by the discovering commander.”

“It’s tradition.” Sendak added.

Thace hated that word. Why were they having this discussion if he couldn’t say no?

“Then why not explain the problem to the humans?” 

“No,” Sendak barked, again, and the Witch hissed. Perhaps he was appearing stupid after all.

“There is no difference between that, and refusing.” Sendak grumbled, ears flicking low, he’d clearly thought of that already.

Thace went silent, realising that he wasn’t been given a choice. He couldn’t refuse, but if that was all there was to it, then he’d have been given an order, not invited to a meeting.

“Then, Lady Haggar, what do we do?”

A sly smile ghosted the Witches face, “any potential mate of a high-ranking Empire officer must prove themselves.”

That was common knowledge. Ulaz – Thace’s mate – had performed live saving surgery on a fellow officer, and thus proven his worth, although they both secretly believed it was his ‘Top Secret’ work with Haggar that had actually got him the approval.

Back to the matter at hand. How was an unknown alien from a primitive planet not yet part of the Empire meant to prove themselves? Oh. That’s what they were really here to discuss.

Sendak voiced Thace’s thoughts, “it can’t prove anything.”

Haggar hissed, teeth bared. Sendak snapped his mouth shut. His ears flattened to his skull.

“I wasn’t done,” she growled, “We must find a way for it to prove itself, or,” her snarl turned to a smile, “make sure it dies trying.”

Sendak’s ears jumped up, and an equally dark smile creeped across his face.

Haggar glanced to Thace, who gave her a smile he knew was weak. She didn’t mention it, attention going back to Sendak.

“Suggestions?” She asked.

“Depends.” Sendak’s sneer was sickening, “How do we want to do this? Dangerous situation, or accident.”

“Dangerous situation,” Thace cut in, he wasn’t going to allow Sendak to kill off an Omega simply because their Alpha’s didn’t understand Galra culture, “the Humans don’t know their place yet. I don’t want to have to deal with appeals of foul play, and investigations.”

Sendak snorted at him, but Haggar nodded.

“Very well, a war of some kind.”

“I hear Than-8 is racking up quite the death count,” Sendak suggested. ‘Quite the death count’ was an understatement. The unliveable conditions, hostile lifeforms twice the size of an average Galra, and the guerrilla warfare tactics of the locals had killed more Galra than any other war in the past 600 years. The most frustrating part was that there didn’t seem to be anything there that the Empire needed. Why they hadn’t just destroyed the planet Thace had no idea.

“It is, but that endeavour is too important to be sabotaged by a clueless Omega,” Haggar replied, glancing to Thace, again. 

She expected a suggestion, but Sendak carried on, “Commander Paelta’s ship then. It’s been hit with ten rebel attacks in the past two Spicolian movement’s.”

Clearly, no one intended to help the poor commander. Victory or death. If the Alpha wanted to live he’d have to beg for it, and Thace knew the commander, he never would.

“No,” Haggar refused, frowning more than usual, “it’ll be gone by the time he gets there.”

The man was being thrown out to die, Thace couldn’t save him, but perhaps he could save this Omega.

An idea, a terrible one, but still an idea, popped into his mind, “why not the arena?”

“What?” Sendak asked, thrown by the suggestion.

“The gladiator ring. If he can win, and survive in there, then he can prove a worthy mate.” Thace still didn’t want him, but it was better than being dead.

“That’s hardly an achievement,” Sendak growled, for some reason annoyed by the idea, but Haggar seemed interested.

“The idea has merit,” she said, shutting Sendak up, “but it does not quite go far enough.”

“What do you propose, my Lady?” Thace asked, gut churning with dread.

“The Champion,” she was smiling, pleased with her perverse idea, “if this Omega can defeat the current Champion then they are worthy of being your mate.”

“The-the Champion has been undefeated for five years,” Thace croaked. It wouldn’t be a fair match. None of his matches were fair, by design. The current Champion was a half-galra twice the size your average galra. He fought with high-tech weapons whilst his opponents had sticks, and knives at best.

“Yes,” Sendak was grinning, teeth on show, “that’s the point.”

“Wonderful.” Haggar stood, signalling the end of the meeting, “the gladiator pits it is. Sendak, see to it that the Humans are informed.”

With that she turned and left.

Thace, and Sendak rose after her, saluting, but she was already nearly gone.

“Yes, my Lady.”

“Vrepit Sa.”

\- - -

“What’s really going on?” Keith asked, the tension of his body bleeding into his voice.

Shiro kept his back to him, not able to face the young Alpha as he packed. They were friends, not anything more than that, never anything more.

“Talk to me,” the floorboards creaked as he stepped closer, “please.”

He couldn’t, he’d already signed his life away, and his mouth shut.

“I’m going on the Galra mission, that’s it,” Shiro answered, throwing another shirt into his bag. He was being haphazard, but he couldn’t muster up the energy for organisation.

“Then why aren’t you happy?”

“I am.” Even to his own ears Shiro sounded tired. 

A hand fell on his shoulder. The touch was light, but there was a weight to it he couldn’t face.

“Can’t you tell me anything?” Shiro remained silent, “something?”

This was pathetic. He was wallowing in his own misery, and scaring Keith. This wasn’t going to change anything, so what was the point?

Grip tightening on his bag, he turned to face Keith, a smile on his face.

“I’m just nervous. That’s it. No big mystery to solve, no watery eyed Omega to comfort.”

Keith’s face was taut, lines everywhere as he studied Shiro’s eyes.

His hand fell away, and he stepped back, “if you can’t talk about it then at least tell me that you’re going to be okay.”

Was he going to be okay?

“I am,” he lied, “promise.”

Keith looked sceptical, but still said, “okay, you’ll explain everything when you get back, right?”

Shiro turned away from him.

“Yeah, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Sheith in this guys, it's more of a background could have been if fate didn't fuck things up :)


End file.
